Ether

For the substance whose common name is ether, see Diethyl ether. For the digital asset, see Ethereum. For other uses, see Aether (disambiguation).
The general structure of an ether. R and R' represent most organyl substituents.

In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group—an oxygen atom bonded to two organyl groups (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula R−O−R′, where R and R′ represent the organyl groups. Ethers can again be classified into two varieties: if the organyl groups are the same on both sides of the oxygen atom, then it is a simple or symmetrical ether, whereas if they are different, the ethers are called mixed or unsymmetrical ethers.[1] A typical example of the first group is the solvent and anaesthetic diethyl ether, commonly referred to simply as "ether" (CH3−CH2−O−CH2−CH3). Ethers are common in organic chemistry and even more prevalent in biochemistry, as they are common linkages in carbohydrates and lignin.[2]

  1. ^ IUPAC, Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. (the "Gold Book") (1997). Online corrected version: (2006–) "ethers". doi:10.1351/goldbook.E02221
  2. ^ Saul Patai, ed. (1967). The Ether Linkage. PATAI'S Chemistry of Functional Groups. John Wiley & Sons. doi:10.1002/9780470771075. ISBN 978-0-470-77107-5.